Excerpt from The People of Shrock Mississippi 1895 - 1922

Edited by Duncan C. Covington, an Attala County native son, the book identified in the title of this post contains the names of hundreds of residents and former residents of Attala County, Mississippi and the surrounding area and chronicles the details of various events in their lives. I am including in the post here today a copy of one particular article published in the November 22, 1922 edition of Kosciusko's newspaper, the Star Herald. The article identifies students who were named to the Midway School's Honor Roll.

First Grade - Norma Stephens, Blanche Shrock, Eunice Caldwell, Mart Baldridge, Joe Mabry, Alice Baldridge, Walter Jones
Second Grade - W. C. Mabry, R.C. Jones, Herbert Harmon, Morris McDaniel
Third Grade - Leonard Porter, Myrtice Harmond, Estell Stevens, Ethel May Stevens
Fourth Grade - Elmer Caldwell, Buena McDaniel
Sixth Grade - A.B. Cochran, Thelma Jones, Anna Jones, Lucille Simpson
Seventh Grade - Laura Branch, Inez McDaniel, Clarence Porter
Eighth Grade - Charles Shrock, P.J. McDonald, Percy May, Joe Wyatt, Eva McDaniel
Ninth Grade - Lelia Porter

Included  among the names above are several of my own relatives, including my grandmother, Lelia Porter (Branch), two of her brothers, Leonard Porter and Clarence Porter, and her future sister-in-law, Laura Branch (Jones).

Descriptive Register of Men in Attala County - Post Civil War

Several years ago, while going through some microfilmed records at the LDS Family History Center, I located a copy of a transcription of the "Descriptive Register" of men living in Attala County during the period 1864-65. I was lucky enough to find James M. Porter, my paternal great-great-grandfather, on that list. The list contained each man's name, age, height, color of his hair, eyes, his skin color, birthplace, and his occupation in the county. Skin colors appearing on the list included "fair," "sallow," "tan," "red," and "dark."

According to the "Descriptive Register, " James M. Porter's height was 6 feet, and he was shown to have black hair and hazel eyes. He was born in Mississippi, his occupation was "farmer," and his skin color was shown as "dark." My first thought was this physical description of James M. Porter might very well have been that of one of my great-uncles, my brothers, or even one of my sons.

Interesting little document! But who prepared this list? What was its purpose? How did it become a "historical" document? Common sense told me the list was prepared during the time period directly following the end of the Civil War. Did the register have anything to do with the end of the war? Or was someone attempting to record racial differences in that particular place and at that particular time?

I began searching for online information about "descriptive registers" and immediately found the document contained on the microfilm at the LDS Family History Center included on a number of widely-used (and very helpful, I might add) Attala County, Mississippi genealogy websites.

What I did not find was information that explained the purpose of the list or its intended use. I found it fascinating, to say the least, that someone in 1864 and 1865 was interested in developing a list that included a person's "skin color." It was not until the U.S. Census of 1870 was taken that an individual's "race" was included on a federal census record. The available categories on the census were "Black", "White", "Mulatto", "Indian" or "Chinese" and the designation on the 1870 U. S. Census may have been decided by the census taker based on physical characteristics rather than having been provided by the individual or a relative. I was both puzzled and intrigued by this "descriptive register", so I kept on searching for an explanation.

But I have never found a valid reason to explain the list. The best explanation to date, is actually second-hand information. By that, I mean that other people have offered explanations to me or I have read explanations of others about what they think was the purpose of the "descriptive register."

I have read for myself that amnesty agreement terms, signed by both sides at the end of the Civil War, included a requirement that each military unit that fought for the South prepare a list of its members. These lists or "descriptive registers" would provide the Federal government with records of those who fought for the South and against the Federal Union. This requirement sounds like a "military" record to me. The "descriptive register" I viewed on microfilm, and which I copied for my own records, contains nothing about military unit name or number or the rank or length of service of the men included on the list.

The Attala County "descriptive register" appears to be a list of civilians. In fact, the list contains no military affiliation or reference to the military at all. I cannot imagine this list would be a comprehensive list of men from Attala County who served in the Civil War. I have researched my family's history in other counties in the State of Mississippi and in several other southern states, but I have never encountered a list similar to the "descriptive register" containing these names of Attala County men in 1864-65.

Will I ever find the answers to my questions about the "descriptive register?" At this point, I don't know.

Where in the Heck is Possumneck?

Based on some comments on this blog by those who watched today's airing of The Price is Right (a long-running game show currently hosted by Drew Carey), Possumneck, Mississippi, may now be a household word!  It seems someone on the show was a resident of Possumneck, a small community in Attala County, Mississippi. For more about Possumneck, check out this link to a post I wrote about the area four years ago on this blog:

http://mymississippimemories.blogspot.com/2009/02/dark-corner-of-possumneck.html?showComment=1369937884026#c1273541278791028495

It really is a small world, isn't it? And thanks to the visitor on The Price is Right, it's existence is now known about throughout the world!  One reader wanted to know where she could get a T-Shirt?  I aim to please my readers, so do you think I should have some made?

Former Mississippian Stokes McMillan Wins 2012 Mississippi Author Award

A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of reviewing here on this blog One Night of Madness, a book written by Stokes McMillan, a native of Attala County, Mississippi.  It was McMillan's first book, a true account of events that happened in that county, in the racially-charged 1950s.  According to the author, a series of photographs taken by his father who worked for the local family-owned newspaper in Kosciusko, Mississippi, the Star-Herald, was the impetus for the book. McMillan's gripping tale of  murder and mayhem in rural Mississippi is well-researched and written and is spell-binding as the events in the story unfold. The book was published in 2009 and was very well-received, earning McMillan an EDGAR award the next year. A husband, father of three sons, and a grandfather, McMillan is a graduate of Mississippi State University and retired last year from a long engineering career with NASA in Houston, Texas. His plans to write another book are on hold, at least for the present, since he is currently involved in a second career working for a private company in Colorado.

Fast forward to 2012.....

McMillan and his book seem to have made an impact on the literary world, at least in Mississippi, as evidenced by a recent article in Publishers Weekly. The transcript of that article is included below.

"Stokes McMillan's self-published book, One Night of Madness, was named winner of the 2012 Mississippi Author Award.  Inspired by articles written by his journalist father in 1950, McMillan's One Night of Madness is the true story of how local, white citizens in the pre-civil rights South unite to hunt down racist white murderers in a small Mississippi town.  A book with an unusual story gains a unique honor with the win.  According to vice president Lynn Shurden, 'this is the first time that I'm aware a self-published book has son.' Published in paperback through Amazon's CreateSpace in November 2009, the book has sold modestly with around 4,000 copies to date. 'Due to my very busy day job, I have not been actively pushing it so sales have slowed accordingly.  I have, however, signed a contract with a movie producer who is working to make it into a movie,' McMillan said. Past winners of the Mississippi Author Award include Eudora Welty, Charlaine Harris, and Kathryn Stockett.  One Night of Madness previously won a gold medal Independent Publishers Book Award in 2010.  McMillan is represented by Wendy Schmalz of the Wendy Schmalz Agency."

Stokes McMillan and his book are now part of Mississippi's literary history, and his name is among others on a hallowed list of authors who call that state "home." Although he is staying busy with other projects at the moment, I predict we will see more of McMillan's talented story-telling. 

Stay tuned.

Jean Baptiste Elzear Burel, French Emigrant

Tomorrow, I will begin the first in a series of posts about the patriarch of the Burrell family in Mississippi. The story begins with Jean Baptiste Elzear Burel, a French physician, who emigrated to the Colonies during the American Revolution. Photos of the graves of two of Jean's descendants buried in Fellowship Cemetery in Attala County, along with some information about the migrations of this family, have been posted today on Cemeteries of Dancing Rabbit Creek. Please join me here tomorrow to read the first part of this family's French-American story.

Vertie's Ring - A Story of Lost Love

This is a picture of my paternal grandmother's sister, my great aunt, Vertie Porter. Born September 22, 1896, in Attala County, Mississippi, Vertie was named for her maternal grandmother, Malverda (also spelled "Melverda" and "Melvertie") Gibson. During the early portion of her adult life, Vertie was a schoolteacher. After teaching school in several places outside of Mississippi, including Stuttgart, Arkansas and in St. Louis, Missouri, Vertie moved to Memphis, Tennessee. There she worked at the University of Tennessee Dental School and lived with her older widowed sister, Etta Porter Parker, until Etta's death from cancer in October 1966.

Although Vertie was an attractive and educated woman, she never married. According to family stories, Vertie had fallen in love with someone in her early twenties, and the couple became engaged to be married. But before they were married, Vertie lost her husband-to-be in an automobile accident. I don't recall ever hearing her fiance's name, so unfortunately I am unable to include it in this post. It seemed that Vertie never met anyone else who could measure up to her beloved, so she never married.

For as long as I can remember, Vertie still wore the beautiful platinum filigree and diamond engagement ring her deceased fiance had given her as a symbol of his devotion. As a young girl, I believed Vertie's ring was the loveliest one in the world, certainly the most beautiful I had ever seen at the time. And on a few occasions when I was young, she even allowed me to try on the ring. My, how it sparkled! When I asked my mother some years ago if she knew what happened to Vertie's ring, she told me the sad story of how Vertie had given it to a niece who allegedly had later sold it.


Recently, I found the second photograph in this post while going through a box of uncatalogued old photographs that belonged to Vertie's sister, my paternal grandmother. Although there are no clues written on the back of the photograph, I believe it is a picture of Vertie and her fiance, and likely one of only a few that may exist. Based on the manicured foliage in the background and the pergola under which the couple were photographed, my best guess is the pictures were taken in the Spring in a park.


Vertie lived almost fourteen years after her sister, Etta, died in Memphis. After retiring from her job, Vertie later returned to Mississippi to live near relatives. And in August of 1980, one month short of her 84th birthday, Vertie Porter died.

Searching for Ragland Ancestors

Someone once told me that if we trace our family tree back as far as the beginning of time, each of us is related to 1, 011,001 other individuals. Although this is a fascinating story, the number is not an even one, and I simply don't understand the math. But you will have to agree, it certainly explains why a genealogist's search is never complete.


Recently, I began a serious search for my Ragland ancestors. When I say "serious" it means that I have searched before, several times before, in fact, but each time I ran up against those so-called "brick walls." This time, I hope to be more resourceful, more productive, and end up with several Ragland family members that I can add to my tree.

One of the first bits of genealogical data that I discovered when I began to research my family history was that Edward Tillman Branch's wife was named Winiford Ragland. Edward and Winiford were my fourth great-grandparents. Shortly after I found Winiford's name, I searched Mississippi marriage records for the date of her marriage to Edward Branch. According to Hinds County, Mississippi marriage records, Edward and Winiford were married in 1830, when Winiford was barely 18 years old. Born in 1798 in Virginia, Edward was almost 15 years older than his bride.

According to the 1850 U. S. Census taken in Attala County, Mississippi, "Winney" Ragland was born in "LA," but ten years later, her birthplace was shown as "Mississippi." Further research at that time was fruitless, and I was unable to determine neither Winiford Ragland Branch's place of birth nor the names of her parents. I put the information aside, vowing to continue the effort when time allowed.

Later, I was fortunate enough to locate Edward's records of his service in the War of 1812, and to obtain photocopies of the documents from the National Archives. Based on affidavits that Edward submitted in connection with Edward's application for a pension, I found names of some Ragland family members. I put those documents aside for later reference and more research.

Sometime later, while examining deed records for the mid-1800s in Attala County, Mississippi, I accidentally found that Winney Ragland Branch's father may be Arthur S. Ragland. Ironically, Arthur is a name that has been passed on to male Branch family members for several generations now, beginning with one of the sons born to Winney and Edward, Joseph Arthur Branch, my third great-grandfather, and to one of my own brothers. At this point, I knew I was on the right path. But I didn't follow-up. There were other ancestors whose information qualified as "low hanging fruit," and I followed those research paths, instead.

Today, I made a promise to myself that I will complete the Ragland family research that has been started for so long. And I began with a search of Mississippi Land Patents Database. What I discovered was that almost 400 acres of Attala County lands were transferred to Arthur S. Ragland on February 27, 1841. These lands were described as the following:

02/27/1841, 158.88 acres in Section 17, T12N, R5E
02/27/1841, 79.44 acres in Section 17, T12N, R5E
02/27/1841, 159.4 acres in Section 8, T12N, R5E
Now I know that Arthur S. Ragland lived in or near Attala County in 1841, and tomorrow, I plan to begin a search of census records. In a few days, with some diligence and hopefully, some good luck, I may know the name of Arthur S. Ragland's wife, and the name of my fifth great-grandmother.

The Violets

This pseudonym was used by several Attala County ladies who wrote a newspaper column about Shrock, Mississippi shortly after the turn of the 20th century. In a time before most folks had automobiles or telephones, weekly newspaper columns such as the one written by "The Violets" served to keep residents of communities informed about each other. They contained information about events, including engagements, marriages, births, and deaths, and provided details about other local items of interest. Variations of the pseudonym "The Violets" were used to sign the Shrock column, including, "Violet," "Two Violets," "Three Violets," and "We Violets." This type of column appeared over the years in other newspapers in Attala County, as well as neighboring counties, and these columns used similar pseudonyms, such as "Daisy,", "Country Cousins," "Golden Hair," and "Whippoorwill."

Reprints of these columns that span almost thirty years and chronicle daily life in the small communities of Attala County, appear in the book, The People of Shrock, Mississippi 1895 to 1922. Privately published by Duncan C. Covington, an Attala County native who now lives in College Station, Texas, this book is a valuable Attala County family research tool. Not only does it contain a wealth of names, events, and dates, it provides an alphabetical index that lists each name appearing in the book and the page number on which it is located.

An excerpt from Covington's book, a column that was published in Kosciusko's newspaper, the Star-Ledger, exactly 107 years ago today, is reprinted below. The column, dated February 12, 1902, and signed by "Two Violets," has some personal significance for me: it contains an announcement of the birth of a son to Mr. and Mrs. John Porter, my paternal great-grandparents.

"Mesdames G.W. Thomas and W. C. Hearst spent part of the past week in Camden.

Both are wearing broad smiles at the arrival of a granddaughter: one at the home of B. J. Barnette, the other at Mr. J. P. Hearst's. Both arrived Sunday last. Great joy to the little ladies.

Miss Carrie Shrock is spending a few days in Kosciusko, the guest of Miss Hassie Riley.

Messrs Phil Simpson and Frank Shines were with us Sunday. Mrs. Nettie Mabry is nursing a sprained ankle. Hope she will soon be all O.K.

Messrs E. L. Hearst and I. E. Stingley are attending court this week.

Mr. and Mrs. John Porter are rejoicing over the arrival of a fine baby boy who arrived on the 1st.

Mr. and Mrs. Hal Shrock visited Mr. Will Ward Sunday near Artesia Springs.

Misses Donald spent Sunday in Goodman with their cousins, Mrs. Ella and Ruth Donald.

Miss Lillie Holley has returned home after spending several days with relatives near Dossville, and friend in Kosciusko. She was accompanied by her brother George.

Miss Hattie Mabry has gone to Clarksdale to college.

Miss Florence Bunch has gone to Aberdeen to visit her aunt.

Mr. Philip Shutleworth was here on business Monday.

Mr. Luther Donald returned to Goodman last Sunday, after spending a few days at home recuperating and taking a rest.

Little Madeline DuBard is her jolly little self after a short spell of fever."

"Two Violets"

The Dark Corner of Possumneck

Something that makes Mississippi special is that a few of its towns have rather unique, and often even strange-sounding names, such as D'Lo, Egypt, Hot Coffee, Itta Bena, and Yazoo City, and any number of others that I won't list here today. Now this is not to say that each of these towns doesn't have a specific and often even an historical reason for its name. This scenario is actually no different for other cities in the United States, or, for that matter, the rest of the world. But a few Mississippi towns may have names that qualify as "one of a kind."

Take Possumneck, for instance. Now you may not have heard of Possumneck. In fact, not every Mississippian even knows about Possumneck. But I would wager that almost everyone who has lived for any length of time in Attala County knows exactly where Possumneck is located. This community got its name from the shape of the area of wooded bottom land that it covered. And yes, it probably did have a rather substantial marsupial population that roamed its dense woods over a hundred years ago. Maybe it still does.

Apart from its rather strange-sounding name, Possumneck was well-known for another reason. It was in this area of Attala County around the turn of the 20th century that a few of the county's less than "reputable" businesses decided to set up shop. And it was for this reason that Possumneck also became known as "Dark Corner." Because the timber business was thriving in that area of Attala county in the early 1900's, the community known as Possumneck eventually grew large enough to maintain a post office. But when the Great Depression caused sawmills in the area to shut down, the less than reputable businesses that no longer had paying customers also closed their doors or moved on to more profitable locations across the Big Black River. The post office soon closed, and today Possumneck is but an extinct town with only a blurred memory of its somewhat colorful past.

Welcome to Mississippi Memories

Thank you for visiting my new blog where I plan to write about memories of my home state. Effective today, 110 posts previously published on Attala County Memories can be read here. As you may note from the new blog title, I am expanding the area about which I write.

First, I will continue posting pictures and writing stories about Attala County family history. I also plan to begin writing about families who pioneered and lived in Holmes County, Madison County, as well as a few other counties, primarily some of those formed when The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was signed with the Choctaw Nation in 1832.

Second, the new blog site will allow me to post pictures and write stories about other things of interest, some possibly not genealogy-related, about my home State of Mississippi.

My third goal is to have this new blog become an interactive blog, one where I can post your pictures and the family stories they tell. Please contact me if you have anything you would like to submit for publication. I look forward to hearing from you.

Good Hope Baptist Church

Left: Good Hope Baptist Church, established circa 1851

Last week, we traveled to several places in North Central and Central Mississippi, by way of Memphis, Tennessee. We arrived in Memphis late in the afternoon and stayed overnight. At five o'clock sharp, we began the evening by watching the well-trained and now famous ducks leave the fountain in the lobby of the beautiful and old Peabody Hotel for their penthouse home there.

Later on, we took a ride on the trolley down Main Street and on its Mississippi River Loop trip. After dinner, we walked over to Historic Beale Street, where we admired music notes, inlaid in the sidewalk, that bear the names of many famous blues musicians. Before leaving Memphis the next day, we made a trip out to the STAX Recording Studio/Soulsville USA on McLemore Avenue. Along with walls and walls of famous 45 rpm rhythm and blues records in mint condition, we saw the 1973 peacock blue Eldorado Cadillac with 24K gold-plated trim that belonged to Isaac Hayes. A new exhibit of Otis Redding memorabilia, recently donated by his wife, was also on display. The museum was well worth the trip and the time it took to see everything there.

In the afternoon of Day 2, we began driving south, venturing off the beaten path to stop in Oxford, Mississippi, where the Ole Miss campus had some of the best fall color we saw on the trip. Along the way, we stopped to visit relatives, including my aunt and uncle in Lexington, my oldest brother and his wife, and finally, my parents, who live north of Jackson.

However, when one is a "Graveyard Rabbit," one must always "brake for cemeteries." And that is just what we did, not once, but several times. And we took many pictures that I plan to use on The Graveyard Rabbit of Attala County blog.

Attala County, Mississippi has dozens of family cemeteries, some that are easily accessible on paved roads and located next to churches, but many that require a long, off-the-road trek, sometimes over the creek, across a pasture, and through the woods. Since last week's rain made it less than appealing to hike into the woods, during this trip we opted for visiting cemeteries that were located near paved roads.

One of those cemeteries was the one located next to the church pictured here, Good Hope Baptist Church, established in 1851. The location for the old, but very well-maintained church and its cemetery is atop a hill, surrounded on two sides by deep ravines. The dense foliage seen from the church grounds and the cemetery consists of tall pine trees and large hardwood trees brilliant with their fall colors.

It was there at the Good Hope Baptist Church Cemetery, where my paternal great-grandfather, Edward Arthur Branch, is buried, that we ended our trip. A picture of my great-grandfather's Woodmen of the World tombstone can be found on the The Graveyard Rabbit of Attala County blog site located at http://graveyardrabbitofattalacounty.blogspot.com/.

Buried in the Good Hope Cemetery beside my great-grandfather are two other Branch ancestors, Mattie Allen Branch, who died in 1870, and Mamie R. Branch, who died in 1900. The cemetery gates bear a memorial marker for two Barrett families buried in this cemetery. Along with the Barrett family, Good Hope Cemetery is the resting place for the loved ones of several other families, including members of the Brewer, Cobb, Leslie, Linn, and Parker families.

In the weeks ahead, I plan to write posts about each of the families named above. If you have information and pictures that relate to these families, and you would like for me to include them as part of these posts, please contact me at attalacountymemories@gmail.com.

I hope to hear from you.

Jim Carr and the "Good People" of Attala County

A few weeks ago while reading through Duncan Covington's "The People of Shrock, Mississippi 1895-1922," I ran across an article that was published in the "Star Ledger" newspaper in 1899. My post is about some "good people," perhaps would-be "saints," who helped a person in need long ago. These good deeds involved a number of Shrock residents, including my own paternal great-grandfather, John Porter, and the account of what happened appeared in the August 14, 1899 newspaper column, signed by "Violet."



"There was a sad affair here several days since. Mr. John Porter found a man by the name of Jim Carr in an old cotton house very sick and without food or medicine. He told the neighbors of the poor man's condition, and, being near Mr. Wm. Holley's, he took his buggy and with neighbors help moved him to a cabin on his place and Mrs. Holley sent bedding and made it as comfortable as possible. The poor man lay on his dying bed, among strangers with no kin near and exclaimed: Good people! Good People! They sent for Dr. Anderson and did all they could for him but on Friday his life ended. The people bought his coffin and clothes and laid him to rest in Old Fellowship grave yard. He said he was on his way to work in timber and had no relatives. Peace to his ashes."



Another article that provides some additional information about Mr. Carr appears in the August 11, 1899 edition of "The Mississippi Farmer" (Vol. 3, No. 40.) This article was written by "Daisy" and relates that Mr. Carr, who was "about 45 years old" when he died, had come to Mississippi to "work in the swamp." He became ill after arriving in Attala County and had not been able to work. When Mr. Carr was asked by those who were helping him before his death if he had relatives they should contact, he told them he had no living relatives at all.



Good people. Yes, good people they all were indeed.

"The Baddest White Man in Mississippi"

David "HoneyBoy" Edwards, well-known Delta blues musician from Shaw, Mississippi, mentions Tillman Branch in his 1997 autobiography "The World Don't Owe Me Nothing." One of the references to the man simply known as "Tillman" states that he owned a "whiskey store on Highway 61." This store was actually located on Highway 51 in Goodman, Mississippi, and during the 1950's and until Tillman's death in 1963, the Goodman, Mississippi business was known as "The Long Branch."

Tillman Branch's family had deep roots in Attala County, Mississippi. His ancestors were respected pioneers, descended from old, well-known colonial families of Virginia, but Tillman's business operations were quite different from those who came before him. His businesses existed in the form of "juke joints" located near Tchula in Holmes County and other outlying areas around Attala County. Tchula's location in the place where the "Hills" meet the "Delta" made it the perfect place for these clubs that became peformance venues for blues musicians, such as Elmore James, Sonny Boy Williamson, and HoneyBoy Edwards, who later became very well-known in their field. Some blues afficianados, such as Junior Dougherty who writes at www.deltablues.net, even believe that Tillman Branch played a crucial, even vital, role in the development of the music form that later became known as the "Mississippi Delta Blues."

Tillman's operation of "juke joints" or "night clubs" was the outgrowth of his alleged reputation as a fairly successful "bootlegger" during the days when local law enforcement seemed to be tolerant of that illegal activity. According to the book written by HoneyBoy Edwards, Tillman also had a reputation for being a womanizer and a "bad man.." and "...all the white folks was scared of him." Rumored reports of Tillman's relationships with women during those years indicate that he routinely ignored local society's racial boundaries that existed at that time and in that place, much to the chagrin of his legal wife and others who knew him.

Although label-bearing hard liquor was not legal in most counties in Mississippi until the late 1960's, it was still easy to find it for sale throughout the state if one knew where to look. And moonshine or "white lightning" was even more available, particularly behind the closed doors of the juke joints. Not only were Tillman's clubs frequented by many blacks who came to drink and to listen to the blues music that reflected events in their own lives, but they were also frequented by white locals who were seeking a lively Saturday night far away from the ever-vigilant eyes of their God-fearing neighbors. It goes without saying that Tillman's businesses existed outside mainstream society of either Attala County, Holmes County, or for that matter, anywhere in the State of Mississippi at that time.

But times were changing, although not favorably for Tillman and "juke joints" in general. And one of those changes involved cracking down on "liquor racketeers," according to an article that appeared in Time magazine. The voice of Hazel Brannon Smith, longtime editor of the Lexington Advertiser and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, became instrumental in forcing law enforcement to take a second look at illegal activities previously "overlooked" by local authorities. According to the article, sixty-four indictments were handed down in 1946 alone.

I have found no written proof that Tillman was among those indicted on charges of illegal activities involving liquor, but the end to an era of uncontrolled proliferation of juke joints and the illegal activities that went on inside their doors was coming to an end. Another period in Mississippi, however, was beginning, the era of desegretation, with events, changes, and even human casualties that would alter the course of history in the state and in the country. Tillman Branch, the man called by some as "The Baddest White Man in Mississippi" would become one of those casualties, perhaps even a casualty of his own making, when he was died in 1963 from a gunshot allegedly fired by a black man who reportedly disagreed with his actions toward a woman they both knew.

What is a Yockanookany?

The Yockanookany is a river, one that is spanned by the first bridge crossed by a traveler when entering Kosciusko from the Natchez Trace. It begins in Choctaw County, Mississippi, near Ackerman, and continues on a course that runs through Attala County, near Kosciusko, and though Leake County, where it becomes a tributary of the Pearl River.

The name has always fascinated me, especially since I have never been able to find the meaning of the word. I know it must be of Choctaw origin, based on it similarity to other Choctaw words and its location in the heart of what was once the Choctaw Nation.

The river runs parallel to the Natchez Trace, and it was likely used by Choctaw people and early settlers long ago to travel through what later became Choctaw, Leake and Attala Counties. The earth and its waters, lakes, streams, and the Yockanookany were sacred to the Choctaw people.

The Yockanookany, its waters and its banks, must hold many stories about life among the people who first lived in that rugged country so very long ago.

The Boy and His Hound Dog

Isn't he cute? This picture of my father was taken in the 1920's in Attala County near the old J. J. Porter homeplace. He is standing beside a fairly large hound dog, maybe a "red-bone hound" with the longest ears I have ever seen. My father seems to be reluctantly holding his left hand on the back of the dog. I am certain that my father's male relatives, but less likely his mother, could barely wait until he became old enough to go raccoon hunting with them. Based on the look on his own face, however, I am not sure if he shares those same feelings. He may be just in awe of this huge dog.

Raccoon hunting was a rite of passage for men during that time and in that place. My father was an infrequent hunter, but when we visited his aunt and uncle in Attala County during my childhood, he always participated in the Saturday night 'coon hunt. To me and to my brothers, the sound of a hound dog's throaty bark from deep within the woods was a certain sign of Saturday night success in "treeing" and subsequently the death of an elusive raccoon. It meant, too, that our father might be home in time to tuck us in.

My great-uncle died of complications from Alzheimer's several years ago, and my father's hunting days are now in the past. The woods are less dense, and wildlife less plentiful now, but the tradition and the sport of raccoon hunting lives on.

The Conner Family in Attala County

Yesterday, I found this picture of a historic marker for the Conner Plantation, once located in Attala County, Mississippi, and the home of Boley Conner and his wife, Anne Traweek Conner. The lovely picture was taken by Natalie Maynor and is one of many in her beautiful collection of Mississippi photos taken throughout the state. If only I could find a picture of the house that was part of the Conner plantation. I was particularly pleased to have discovered a photo of the historical marker, since Anne Traweek was the first wife of one of my Porter ancestors, Archibald Porter. According to Attala County records, a number of Conner family members are buried in the cemetery. My Porter line is descended from Samuel Porter, a brother of Archibald Porter. As the story goes, when Archibald's first wife died, he went back to Alabama,, where he still had relatives, and married his second wife, Anne Traweek. Anne moved to Attala County, Mississippi, where she and Archibald became the parents of Susannah, named for his deceased wife, and Burwell and Isabella, named for her parents.

Archibald Porter died several years later, leaving Anne a young widow with three very young children. A short time later, Anne Traweek Porter married Boley Conner, a son of Uriah Conner, who had settled with his Maryland-born wife, Rebecca Chappelear, in Winston County, near Louisville, Mississippi, after the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was signed. According to the U. S. Census of 1850, taken in Winston County, Mississippi, Uriah had already died, since Rebecca was shown living in a household that did not include her husband. 


Over the next dozen or so years, Anne and Boley had a total of thirteen children, including three sets of twins. When their first set of twins were born in 1846, Anne and Boley named them for his parents, Rebecca and Uriah. Interestingly, some years earlier, Anne and Archibald Porter had named two of their children for her parents.


A few years ago, we had the pleasure of staying overnight at Linden Plantation in Natchez, Mississippi, now operated as a bed and breakfast. It is a truly lovely house, with beautiful gardens surrounding it. The house, the gardens, and the big plantation breakfast, served each morning on antique china complemented by old sterling flatware and period sterling pieces, make a guest believe they have stepped back into the days of Scarlett O'Hara. The house with its period furnishings is said to be one of the best examples of Federalist design in the United States. At breakfast one morning, the owner related to us the story of how the doors to Tara Plantation in the movie "Gone With the Wind" were an exact replica of the front door at Linden Plantation, including the beautiful leaded glass sidelights and fanlight.


The Conner family made its mark in Mississippi, both socially and politically. Interestingly enough, some of that same Conner family built Linden Plantation, and descendants of the family have lived there consistently since before the Civil War.

Who was Dot Mabry?

The picture here is another "mystery photo" from my grandmother's picture album from long ago. A name appears on the back of the picture, written in childlike penmanship - that of "Dot Mabry."

The surname "Mabry" was a very well-known and well-respected name in Virginia during the 1700's. Sometime during the early 1800's, members of the Mabry family migrated to other colonies, and some of the family ended up settling in Attala County.

In Virginia, the patriarch of the Mabry family, Hinchia Mabry (often spelled "Mabury") already had ties to the descendants of Christopher Branch. So it does not seem unusual that I have discovered Branch family members living near Mabry family members on U. S. Census records dated during the 1800's in Attala County.

Although I have not discovered a direct relationship between my Branch ancestors and the Mabry family in Attala County, it is almost certain that intermarriages occurred between these two pioneer families during the 19th and 20th centuries. My grandmother apparently knew the people in the picture, or it would not have been included in her photo album. It is likely the children pictured attended either the Midway School or the school at Shrock, Mississippi. But all I have to go on is the name on the back of this picture.

Who exactly was Dot Mabry? Is she one of the young girls pictured in the photo, or was she the mother of the seven children pictured there? What was the connection, if any, of this family to the Branch family in Attala County? I am puzzled by the picture, and I would like to know how this family was connected to my grandmother. Why it was in her album, appearing next to known relatives.

Maybe a reader of this post, possibly a descendant of the Mabry family in Attala County, will help me solve the mystery.

Mr. and Mrs. Moreau of Cleburne, Texas

This is an "orphan" photograph. Actually, it is an original picture postcard that I found in my grandmother's photo album. On the side used for mailing is written "Mr. and Mrs. Moreau, Clebourne, TX." The postcard was never mailed, unless it was inside an envelope.

The couple in the picture remain a mystery to me and to my other living family members. First, we don't recognize the name "Moreau" as the name of anyone in our family tree. The fact that "Clebourne, Texas" is written on the reverse of the card, however, may tie Mr. and Mrs. Moreau to the second family of James Monroe Porter, my great-greatgrandfather, since that family left Attala County, Mississippi and settled near Cleburne, Texas (current spelling) after he died.

The picture postcard, now about one hundred years old, is a priceless family treasure that should be in the hands of the descendants of Mr. and Mrs. Moreau.

Maybe someone who reads this post can help make that happen. I sincerely hope so.

The Smartest Girl in Her Class

Copy of an excerpt from "The People of Shrock" by Duncan C. Covington.

Above: Lelia Porter

circa 1922 - 9th Grade

Midway School, Attala Co.

Recently, while thumbing through my new copy of Duncan Covington's book, "The People of Shrock," I found that my paternal grandmother, Lelia Porter Branch, was the only student in the 9th grade at Midway School, who was on the "Honor Roll." Also, on that honor roll, were two of her brothers, Clarence Porter and Leonard Porter, one of my paternal grandfather's sisters, Laura Branch, and a cousin of my grandfather's, Mart Baldridge.



I always knew that my grandmother was a smart lady, and I based this opinion, in part, on the variety of books she read. When she was not busy with household chores, gardening, or chasing us when we were young, she could likely be found reading a newspaper, a book or a magazine. Her choices were many, ranging from the classics of her young years to modern day fiction and non-fiction, and any current event publication she could get her hands on. One of her favorites of the 1950's was "Grit" newspaper. My best recollection is that this was some sort of "tabloid" newspaper that included some current event items.



She remembered so much of what she read, and many of the things she discussed with me as a child came from what she had learned from something she had recently read. I feel so fortunate to have had a grandmother like her, because she instilled in me the belief that I should "take care" of all books. She also passed along to me her fondness for books and her lifelong love of reading. I still have some of the books she gave me over the years, and I will never, ever part with any of them. Each time I pick up one of the books that belonged to her, I feel that she left a part of herself with me.



One of my most sentimental possessions is a copy of Eudora Welty's book, "Delta Wedding," that my grandmother gave me during my teen years. A few years later, I actually met Miss Welty while she was "Writer-in-Residence" at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, and I was fortunate enough to have her sign the book. Now, many years later, the book is not only a sentimental treasure, but a valuable one as well.



I also have in my possession two of my grandmother's well-worn textbooks, "Latin for Scholars" and "Textbook of Chemistry." According to the many marks in these two books, her two sisters, Vertie and Etta Porter, must have used them in school, as well. The fact that three young ladies who lived in rural Attala County, Mississippi, who pursued difficult courses such as Latin and chemistry during the early 1900's, should dispute the opinion of many outside the State of Misssissippi that Mississippians have not valued education.



My personal belief is that Mississippians have always valued education and the dreams that blossomed along with it. And books will continue to allow those dreams to flourish and grow.

My Dad, the Birthday Boy - But on a Horse??

I have written and submitted this photograph for Smile for the Camera, 6th Edition.

What you see here is a photograph of my father on a horse – not a pony, but a full-sized horse WITH a saddle. The back of the picture says it was made at the old J. J. Porter place in rural Attala County, Mississippi, near the community of Sallis. J. J. Porter was his maternal grandfather. The writing on the back of the picture also states that my father was celebrating his first birthday….but on a horse??

Over the years, I have seen family photographs of children sitting on Shetland ponies, standing on the running board of a Model T, posed beside or in front of a another type car of long ago, sitting in a wagon pulled by a goat, standing beside a tractor, and yes, even sitting on a tractor. But this is the one and only picture I have ever seen of a small child sitting on a full-size horse!

Now back to the picture. First, “smile for the camera” must not have yet been understood by my father when he was one. He is not smiling. In fact, he appears to have been very reluctant to sit on the horse in the first place, and is probably quite afraid of his predicament. His eyes appear closed….was it the sun, or was it just time for a quick nap?

A one-year old sitting on a horse must have thought he would never see his parents’ safe arms again. Was someone holding onto him, possibly behind the horse? I certainly hope that was the case, although I am unable to make that determination from this picture. And what WAS he wearing? Something all white, including the coat and the cap, it appears. It must have been his Sunday clothes, but maybe he had been christened on his first birthday….unlikely, although possible.

But I am still wondering…..was a horse, a car, a tractor, and a wagon pulled by a goat all “accepted” as normal places for photographing children “way back when?” Or was it common practice only in rural areas?

Maybe someone who reads this post can enlighten me.